Lois Duncan

WWW Wednesday: January 31, 2018

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Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at Should be Reading and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three W’s!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading:  Elske (Tales of the Kingdom, book 4) by Cynthia Voigt

Alright now, I’m determined to read this book slower this time around. It’s the one I’ve read least often of all the Tales of the Kingdom books, for unknown reasons, and because of that, I tend to speed through it! This time I’m going to take my time and imagine every little detail. I mean it!

Read my Review of Elske!

Note:  Also published as The Tale of Elske, which is the version I’ll be reading this time since I don’t have access to my own copy.

Recently Finished:  The Third Eye by Lois Duncan

I decided about a week or so ago that I should go back and reread Lois Duncan’s novels, as well as read the ones I never got to the first time around. And in a remarkably unusual turn, I actually got a bunch of her books from the library and went through with a plan before a whole year passed! Amazing!

This is only the second book I’ve gotten to of hers so far, but I’m enjoying myself. I always like a good psychic story! And despite the cheesy-ness I liked who the little girl turned out to be.

Read the Mini-Review!

Reading Next:  Locked in Time by Lois Duncan

This is the third book I grabbed up by Lois Duncan, and the first so far that is a reread.

I can’t remember much about it because I read it back in like middle or early high school, so I don’t even remember if I liked it or not.

I may read it before I actually finish Elske, just to force myself to slow down on that reread.

Mini-Review: The Third Eye by Lois Duncan

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Rating: ★★★☆☆ – liked it

Another solid 3-star novel from Lois Duncan. As is often the case in Duncan’s novels, there are some parts that are done perfectly and others that feel a little rushed, but in the end it’s a quick, easy read of decent quality.

Content Warning:  Animal Death & Child Death – There are some mentions of a dead girl (not vivid) and the protag has a nightmare about some missing infants being dead (not vivid). The cop shoots a dog that tries to attack him. You don’t see the dog die, but you see it’s body after and it is described in detail (~2 sentences).

Completed: The Third Eye by Lois Duncan

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The Third Eye by Lois Duncan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Read the Mini-Review!

Content Warning:  Animal Death & Child Death – There are some mentions of a dead girl (not vivid) and the protag has a nightmare about some missing infants being dead (not vivid). The cop shoots a dog that tries to attack him. You don’t see the dog die, but you see it’s body after and it is described in detail (~2 sentences).

View all my ratings on Goodreads

Review: Gallows Hill by Lois Duncan

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What started as a harmless fortune-telling gimmick leads to new-in-town Sarah being labeled a witch by her religious, conservative schoolmates. And now she’s dreaming of the Salem Witch Trials. Something sinister is brewing in Pine Crest!

Rating:  ★★★☆☆ – liked it
Genre:  young adult fiction, ya horror, ya thriller, ya paranormal mystery
Pros:  fairly realistic characters, interesting premise, easy read
Cons:  slightly rushed in some parts

I think this book is best described as “thriller-lite”. It would be a decent starter book for people wanting to try out the Thriller or Paranormal Mystery genres with something that won’t be too scary or confusing.

Some of the paranormal explanations felt a bit rushed and info dump-y; aside from that it wasn’t a bad story. I wouldn’t say it’s Duncan’s best novel, but it’s a decent easy read.

As fantastical as some of this book was, the part that stood out to me was the realistic portrayal of the insular, religious small town full of conservative bigots. At first glance, these characters might seem over-the-top, but I could almost mistake some of them for actual people I knew from my childhood.

I didn’t enjoy the use of the g*psy slur or the negative stereotypes about Romani people that were voiced by one of the characters. It’s actually a part of characterization not some preachy narration, so it wasn’t too bad, but if that is a thing which upsets you, skip this one.

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